Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id AAA11995 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Thu, 26 Jul 2001 00:55:05 +0100 Message-ID: <008901c11564$edfedba0$60dab3d1@teddace> From: "Dace" <edace@earthlink.net> To: <memetics@mmu.ac.uk> References: <2D1C159B783DD211808A006008062D3101745FC5@inchna.stir.ac.uk> Subject: Re: Logic Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2001 16:52:30 -0700 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.50.4133.2400 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.50.4133.2400 Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
> Dawkins' 'The Blind Watchmaker' takes this as its central idea, that
> creationists assume the evolution requires a designer, requires someone to
> set the process going. He refutes it ably and in a lot of detail.
Machines are made by intelligent beings. Why wouldn't this also be the case
for bio-machines? And who else besides the cosmic mechanic would be
responsible for crafting the various models of life? Creationism is the
original form of mechanistic philosophy, and it remains the strong form.
Neo-Darwinism is the result of severe compromises with the necessities of
evolution, and the resulting mountain of improbabilities makes it the weak
form of the theory. As long as mechanism is the only show in town,
creationism will be the logical choice. This doesn't make it true, of
course. Both forms of the theory are false.
> I'm curious here, are you suggesting that creationism is more plausible
that
> evolution, or simply that a mechanistic description of evolution is no
more
> plausible than creationism?
Mechanism is far more compatible with creationism than evolution. The point
of evolution is that the species are not molded externally. Their forms
arise from within, over time. Darwin's genius was to salvage the Creator by
naturalizing him. Though God is blinded (and thus needs a lot longer to
create the forms of life) he still has two hands to work with-- the right
hand of natural selection and the left hand of material spontaneity (i.e.
random, genetic mutation). Like many powerful memes, God doesn't go easily.
Darwinism is basically God in drag. Dress him up like Mother Nature and
then pretend we've gotten rid of him. As long as we accept external
creation-- whether supernatural or natural-- as opposed to self-creation,
we're still in the thrall of Authority.
> What view of evolution, in your view, is plausible?
When our hominid ancestors developed a method of scavenging for meat in the
hottest part of the day (after most animals have retreated to the shade)
they soon began developing sweat glands and losing their hair. The
phylogenetic shift occurred in tandem with the behavioral shift. This is
the norm, and it suggests that our own actions help determine our evolution.
We shape ourselves. If we'd had to wait around for a couple million years
for a random mutation to give us the necessary glands under our skin, we'd
still be waiting. Since we can't pass on acquired characteristics directly
to our offspring, there must be a kind of nonmaterial, species memory which
evolves in accord with the shifting behavior of individual organisms. This
is akin to Aristotle's notion that the form of the organism is determined by
the species, not through machine-like processes arising from the nuclei of
our cells.
Ted Dace
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